TOTA Continuing Education Approval Program
The TOTA Continuing Education Approval Program (TOTA CEAP) authorizes continuing education providers to issue continuing education (CE) hours that are pre-approved by TOTA. The TOTA CEAP assures that the pre-approved continuing education courses offered are relevant to OT practitioners in the state of Texas and meet the standards for continuing education established for license renewal by the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners (TBOTE; Occupational Therapy Rules Chapter 367 Continuing Education). Continuing education providers who meet criteria and agree to adhere to the following program guidelines will receive the designation pre-approved by TOTA and have courses offered posted on the TOTA website prior to the course date if requested. Prospective CE providers must submit the application (link below) to the TOTA website electronically. Applications will be reviewed by at least two members of TOTA's CE Review Committee to assure the quality of the course offering and submission meets the TBOTE CE requirements for occupational therapy practitioners in the state of Texas.
Approval Benefits Include: |
• |
FREE advertising of your course on our website through our TOTA Approved Courses list available to both TOTA members and non-members. This gives your course MORE exposure by directly targeting over 12,000 occupational therapy practitioners in Texas! |
• |
The Approved Courses list posts your information in a user-friendly format searchable by title, speaker, date, location, cost, etc. |
• |
TOTA approval status is effective for twelve months. |
• |
Option to be a Featured Course on the TOTA website is also available for an additional fee. |
Approval Process:
- Courses are only accepted electronically through the TOTA website.
- An email confirmation should be received once the form is submitted. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
- Once the course has been reviewed for approval, the person who submitted the course will be notified by TOTA with the results
- If the course is approved, TOTA will issue an approval letter with the approved course information
- All approved courses, unless directed otherwise, are listed on the TOTA Approved Courses page under Continuing Education
- CE submission form must be complete. Applications missing any documentation cannot be processed or approved.
- Educational contact hours are requested in quarter-hour increments.
- Breaks should be considered for courses longer than 1-hour, but breaks are not counted toward the total continuing education time.
- Other areas not considered as continuing education time are: Registration, sign-in, meals, exhibit hall, and any other non-educational time.
- The following are required to complete the application:
- Course Practice Area Category (see FAQ below for category descriptions)
- Detailed course schedule with times
- CV or résumé for all instructors/presenters (speaker bios are unacceptable)
- Measurable learner objectives
- Outline of program/course content
- Instructional methods of the course
- Application or relevance to the practice of occupational therapy
- At lease two recent (last 10 years) reference citations of a reference directly supporting proposed subject matter (APA format)
- Sample participant course assessment
- Sample certificate
- Supporting documentation for self-study (if applicable)
- Courses are reviewed in the order they are received. Current processing time is around 4 weeks.
- Sponsor applications can be Expedited for an additional fee. Expedited applications are guaranteed to be sent out to review within 2 business days upon receipt. Current processing times for Expedited applications are 1-2 weeks.
- Fees:
- TOTA offers a sliding scale based on the number of contact hours
- A $50 fee may be added to expedite the review process. Applications submitted less than 30 days prior to course should be expedited.
- Featured Course Fee (Optional): If requested, added to the course fees would be an additional $100 for a 30-day listing of $150 for a 60-day listing.
Important points to expedite course submission: Evaluate and substantiate your request by asking the questions that reviewers consider:
- Does the schedule appropriately reflect the educational contact hours requested, excluding breaks and other non-instructional time?
- Are there any unidentified time frames or gaps in the schedule?
- Does the presenter’s CV demonstrate how they meet the criteria to be considered qualified to present the content of the course?
- Does the submission clearly reflect the course’s application of the content to occupational therapy practice in the course outline, objectives, and statement of relevance?
Frequently Asked Questions:
- My course schedule includes registration time in the morning, breaks, and a post-test. How do I reflect the approved CE hours on my brochures and certificates?
- If the provider promotes the course as TOTA Approved, the TOTA approved time on course promotional materials and on course certificates should reflect only the instructional time of the course. This means that the overall time of the event may be longer than the contact hours approved for the educational content.
- What should I do if my course includes a working lunch?
- If a working lunch is offered, breaks must offset this time. Because TOTA requires a 15-minute break for every 2 hours of the course, courses may be approved by TOTA for a different number of hours than what was requested.
- What is a statement of relevance to occupational therapy practice?
- This statement should clearly describe how the content of the course is directly related to the scope of practice for occupational therapy practitioners in the state of Texas. For more information on how occupational therapy practice is defined, please review the §362.1 of the OT Rules on the TBOTE website (https://www.ptot.texas.gov/page/ot-acts-and-rules).
- Where can I find more information on the TBOTE regulations for continuing education to make sure my course meets the standards for occupational therapy practitioners in Texas and can be approved by TOTA?
- Please go to the TBOTE website (https://www.ptot.texas.gov/page/ot-acts-and-rules and review the OT Rules to understand the definition of continuing education and acceptable/unacceptable activities (§367.1) and the categories of education (§367.2). Any course that does not meet TBOTE requirements will not receive TOTA approval.
- What are instructional methods?
- Instructional methods include the different ways that the course content is delivered. Examples of instructional methods include lectures, case studies, pre-and post-tests, etc. Remember that non-instructional time, such as time to take a post-test, cannot be included in the approved contact hours from TOTA.
- How do I know what practice area of occupational therapy my course best fits?
- Academia: Content relevant to the professional development of academic OTPs and those who want to transition from clinical practice to academia. This may include fieldwork and doctoral capstone or concern the pedagogy, education, ethics, or theory development of occupational therapy.
- Children & Youth: Content relevant to pediatric occupational therapy practitioners providing services to infants, toddlers, children, and youth and their families across a variety of settings.
- Health & Wellness: Content relevant to occupational therapy practitioners providing wellness-related services related to the physical as well as the emotional well-being of clients.
- Mental Health and/or Behavioral Health: Content relevant to occupational therapy practitioners providing mental health treatment and prevention across the lifespan and for those with mental illness.
- Productive Aging: Content relevant to occupational therapy practitioners working with a rapidly aging population to maintain independence and safety.
- Rehabilitation, Disability and Participation: Content relevant to occupational therapy practitioners working to address the needs of clients with injuries, illness, or decreased occupational performance due to another cause.
- Work and Industry: Content relevant to occupational therapy practitioners promoting workplace success for those returning to work after an illness/injury or providing prevention supports.
- Ethics: Content relevant to understanding ethical standards or regulatory matters for occupational therapy practice.
- Documentation, Billing and Regulatory Matters: Content related to documentation and reimbursement for occupational therapy practice. TBOTE specifically excludes courses that are designed to educate employees about topics such as professionalism, team building, and HIPPA compliance or the philosophy/policies/procedures of a specific work setting.
Questions? Contact Kami Lusson 832-915-9239
|